‘The Crank’ set to referee main event

Frank “The Crank” Camacho will be the third man inside the octagon in Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation’s main event between Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial and Rueben “The Booben” Quinata.

Trench Tech president Cuki Alvarez said the former Universal Reality Combat Championships light heavyweight champion is returning to Saipan fresh from winning a gold medal in the No Gi competition of a North American Grappling Association tournament in New Jersey.

“Frank will be returning to Saipan for Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation set for Dec. 12. He will be in attendance on fight night as a special guest referee for some of the undercard fights and for the main event fight. Frank recently competed in the 170-179 lbs. intermediate division and won gold in No Gi and a bronze in Gi,” he said.

Alvarez said the other referee for Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation will be James Revila, who has officiated a couple of Trench Tech’s events in the past.

While Camacho and Revila will have the unenviable task of trying to separate MMA fighters inside the ring, Alvarez said the job of judging the matches will fall on the capable hands of three gentlemen— Dave Celis Sr., John Blanco, and L.J. Castro.

Alvarez said Celis is a boxing annalist and former Saipan Boxing Federation board member, while Blanco is a known MMA activist and consultant. Castro, meanwhile, is a famous local radio personality and DJ and is an MMA superfan.

Aside from the Saipan-Guam main event featuring Marianas Elite’s Fitial and Spike 22 Fight Academy’s Quinata, Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation will have Marianas Elite’s Myron “The Natural” San Nicolas going up against Team Predators’ “Brutal” Bryson Sablan in the semi main event.

The rest of the fight card for Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation is as follows:

n Team Pwang’s Eddie Paulis vs. Trench Tech’s Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez (4-0) in the 130-lb. division;

n Team Pwang’s J.J. “The Mauler” Mality (1-3) vs. Trench Tech’s Alverick “Pretty Boy” Alvarez (2-0) in the 140-lb. division;

n Marianas Elite’s Derick “Pinchi” Rangamar (3-3) vs. Trench Tech’s “Badd” Brad Palacios (5-2) in the 140-lb. division;

n Predator Combat’s Nate “The Terrible” Guam United Fight Team’s Leo “The Assassin” Cing (5-4) in the 150-lb. division;

n D.A.T. Gym’s Joe Cabrera (0-1) vs. Trench Tech’s Fasi “Quikdraw” Jesse (2-0) in the 155-lb. division;

n Malesso Home Grown Fighters’ Brian “The Shotgun” Howard (6-5) vs. Trench Tech’s Giovanni “Palaxi” Sablan (12-4) in the 150-lb. division;

n Predator Combat’s John “The Jackhammer” Borja (2-3) vs. Marianas Elite’s Syl “The Deal” Teregeyo (3-2-1) in the 185-lb. division;

n Team SSS Robert “Pitbull” Palacios (0-5) vs. Trench Tech’s Jason “Rush” Tarkong (8-2) in the 175-lb. division; and

n Team Zalaka’s Ton “Xcalibur” Nekaifes (0-1) vs. Team X-Treme’s “Kill” Bill Saures (6-4) in the Big Brawl super heavyweight division.

Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation will also make history with the first ever female MMA fight in the CNMI as Jen “Salbahe” Sambile makes her debut against boxer-turned-MMA fighter Tara “Tarantula” Namauleg.

Tickets for Trench Warz IX: The Annihilation are on sale at Boarderline, 6-7-Zero Rocksteady Shop, Hannam Market, Mobil Kagman, and Trench Tech Gym. General admission costs $25, while VIP is $40. Gates open at 6pm.